New Delhi, 27 October (H.S.): A poetry gathering titled ‘Rashtra Sadhana Ke Sau Varsh’ (A Century of National Dedication) was organised at Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences in the South-West Delhi centre of Indraprastha Sahitya Bharati to mark Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti and commemorate the centenary year of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

During the event, poets paid tribute to Maharishi Valmiki through their compositions and offered poetic reflections on various dimensions of the RSS’s century-long journey.

The gathering featured poems exploring a wide range of themes associated with the organisation’s 100-year history. These included its founder, Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, and its second chief, M. S. Golwalkar, popularly known as Guruji; Hindu unity and organisation; the role of daily shakhas as centres of character-building and cultural values; the tradition of regarding the saffron flag as the organisation’s guru; path sanchalan (processions); the dedicated lives of full-time pracharaks; and the experiences and spirit of its training camps.

Other subjects included relief work undertaken during the Partition, service during natural disasters, the struggle during the Emergency, the role of affiliated organisations, community service, social harmony, cow protection, rural development, family awareness, environmental conservation, civic discipline and swabodh, or self-awareness.

Addressing the gathering, Vinod Babbar, president of the Delhi state unit, said Maharishi Valmiki occupied a foundational place in Sanskrit literature and that his immortal work, the Ramayana, remained an invaluable treasure of Indian literary heritage. He observed that Valmiki’s writings continued to inspire compassion, sensitivity and human values.

Reflecting on the RSS’s century-long journey, Babbar said it represented the collective efforts of countless volunteers towards awakening, organisation, character-building and social development.

He also highlighted the significance of the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad’s six-decade-long journey, noting that the organisation had consistently worked to promote Indian languages and literature.

Urging young people to engage with literature, Babbar said it was not confined to students of any particular discipline but remained an integral part of human life, from birth to its final stages. He described literature as a powerful medium for bringing society together.

Pradeep Deswal, the Sanghchalak of the Dwarka unit, also presented a poem highlighting the circumstances and background surrounding the establishment of the RSS.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar